Let’s go ahead and call it. It’s 9:47 on the east coast, and with 54% of precincts reporting, North Carolina’s anti-LGBT Amendment One is passing by better than a 60-40 margin. “Pro-marriage” social conservatives are undoubtedly hailing this as a major victory for the “family” and the “sanctity of marriage,” but from where I sit the state’s reactionary forces have
Read moreMusic is a precious thing, and it’s always sad when even a little bit of it dies. Thus, this morning begins on a down note with the news that Greg Ham, multi-instrumentalist for Men at Work, is dead at the age of 58. Casual music fans will remember him as the author of the catchy flute riff in “Land Down
Read moreOn April 16, 2007, Scholars & Rogues went live, featuring a post by Gavin Chait (Unlearning helplessness: how donors reinforce poverty and dependency) and one by me on Joe Wilson’s speech at the Conference on World Affairs (where he said that Fred Thompson belonged to the “treason faction of the Republican Party”). Some highlights: We have published 5,099 posts (this
Read moreThe uncanny valley is a hypothesis in the field of robotic and 3D computer animation, which holds that when human replicas look and act almost, but not perfectly, like actual human beings, it causes a response of revulsion among human observers. The “valley” in question is a dip in a proposed graph of the positivity of human reaction as a
Read moreI know that humans are the pinnacle of intellectual life on Planet Earth (well, unless you believe Douglas Adams, anyway). But there are some awfully smart animals out there, too. Today’s SVR, which pays tribute to our furry and feathery fellow travelers, begins with the Shaun White of the animal kingdom.
Read moreEarl Scruggs, the legendary master of the bluegrass banjo, is dead at 88. It was just a few days ago that I was writing about the music that I grew up with, and rest assured, Flatt & Scruggs were welcome in the Smith household. There’s honestly not a lot I can say that I feel is worthy of the man’s genius
Read moreThe Internet era (and the age of PostModernism in general) has given the world a lot of garbage. But damned if the proliferation of electronic technology hasn’t produced some freakin’ awesome moments, too. Like this, which was sent my way by our buddy Frank Balsinger. One of the absolute best mashups I’ve ever seen.
Read moreEarlier this morning Chris offered up a post entitled “Why are environmentalists missing a mild-weather opportunity?” It raises a pragmatic point about how the climate “debate” plays out in the public sphere and is well worth a read. Go ahead – I’ll wait. Predictably – and by “predictably,” I mean that last night I e-mailed our climate guru, Brian Angliss,
Read moreLast week, in part one of our series on Denver photographer Greg Thow, we saw some fantastic shots of the 5280, one of America’s most beautiful cities. Of course, stunning nature photography is a prerequisite for shutterbugs living in Colorado, and while it was his urban photos that first caught my attention, Thow has an eye for the Centennial State’s trees,
Read moreRecently one of my Facebook friends posted a link to a photograph that just staggered me. The shooter was someone I had never heard of, a guy named Greg Thow.
Read morePreviously: I hope you took a few minutes to explore the outstanding recipients of this year’s Gold and Platinum LP awards. Honorable Mentions, too. I don’t think many readers will find much controversy in the assertion that things have been hard over the past few years, and 2010 and 2011 were especially hellish in my neck of the woods. So
Read more“I ain’t got no quarrel with them Viet Cong… No Viet Cong ever called me nigger.”
Read moreThe Sing-Off was a bit of a disappointment this year. Last season was the show’s high water mark to date, with four or five legitimate A-level contenders and two acts – Committed (the winner) and Street Corner Symphony (runner-up) – that stand head and shoulders above everybody else in the show’s three seasons to date. (And please, click those links
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lullaby pit 